Tia Blackstone, Joe Mathis, J’Wyne Miller, Joshua Williams

There’s a party going on, filled with fan-favorite foods, a worry-free atmosphere, and everyone is surrounded by their closest friends. However, what really makes this party so enjoyable, is the music. The DJ (disc jockey) is the life of the party. Many people think that being a DJ is something easy to do, but a lot of people don’t realize the struggle they go through. DJ’s have what is called, their own “hustle.”  

Being a DJ really became popular in the late sixties. DJ-ing has evolved since then. During the 50s through the 60s, the first mixers hit the market. This allowed DJs to have more control over their music. From the 60s to the 70s, DJ-ing hit the streets in New York. It became the breeding ground for experimentation. During this era, turntablism really grew also. Artists and musicians are now manipulating songs to create new and exciting beats for people to enjoy. CDs became popular, which led to the creation of the mp3 format. Then, in the 90s, digital music was exploding, more people were pursuing their career of being a DJ and more people started experiencing the music. Music  continues to evolve its sound. DJ-ing is well known today, but many people think that DJ-ing isn’t a reasonable career.

“Yeah a lot of people didn’t see it as a career. They just saw it as a hobby,” says local DJ (DJ Cmix). DJs struggle with having to live from paycheck to paycheck. “DJs can make $100 to $2,000 in one night. It really just depends on what people think my value is.” While most DJs make $1,000 a night, other DJs reach the ceiling with their popular well known mixes. Famous DJs, Tiesto, can charge $100 a ticket just to listen to him live. The struggle that he has to go through is that unlike some of the other DJ’s, he’s not as advanced as them to charge over $100 a ticket. He would struggle with his crowds not liking some of the mixes some nights to the crowds being infatuated with his mixes.

DJ Cmix has been DJ-ing for quite some time now. He has been DJ-ing for 6 years now. His influences are Grandmaster Flash, the game DJ Hero, and DJ Jazzy Jeff for the reason that they planted a seed into him that he wanted to pursue DJ-ing as a career. He started out as a freshmen in college back in 2010. Once he touched the mixers, he knew that DJ-ing was the job for him. Being in college and working as a DJ was a struggle. He’d have classes all day then he’ll be rocking his gigs at night.
Most people don’t realize the “hustle” of a DJ. Their paycheck will vary and they have to live paycheck to paycheck. Since DJ-ing is predominantly a night job, DJ’s have to balance their day lives and their night lives. The life of a hustler can be a struggle, but it can be overcome.